Methods and apparatus for implementing a protocol format capable of handling shared and dedicated radio resources

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus are disclosed that implement a protocol format capable of handling shared and dedicated resources. A combined dedicated/shared protocol is used to enable dedicated data to be transmitted over shared wireless networks. In particular, the protocol is a combined DLC/MAC protocol. Header information for L 2  headers are modified so that a receiving MAC will appropriately route and interpret the data. The data will be routed to the portion of the network supporting dedicated resources (e.g., DLC) if the header information is a predetermined value. Otherwise, the data is routed to the portion of the network supporting shared resources (e.g., RLC/MAC). The protocol of the present invention does not interfere with existing transceivers.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to shared and dedicatedwireless networks, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus forimplementing a protocol format capable of handling shared and dedicatedradio resources.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Current generations of wireless networks separate shared anddedicated radio resources for devices that provide the correspondingtelecommunication services. A dedicated resource, for instance, is anassigned circuit used primarily to transmit and receive voice signals.While some data may be transmitted over the circuit, such that voice anddata are transmitted over the same circuit, the circuit is stillassigned to the transmitter/receiver. A cellular telephone in adedicated resource network, for example, would be assigned a particularcircuit and data received from or transmitted to the cellular telephoneis transmitted over the same circuit. Consequently, systems that enabletransmission to and reception from such dedicated networks are commonlycalled circuit switched systems.

[0003] A system using shared radio resources, by contrast, allowsinformation from multiple users to be received and transmitted over asingle circuit. The information could be voice or data. Currently,shared radio resources are deployed by systems supporting packetswitched services.

[0004] It should be noted that the terms “dedicated” and “shared” referprimarily to the usage of physical radio resources on the cell level ina cellular network. In general, cellular telephones or other RadioFrequency (RF) devices in a cell communicate with a base station. Thebase station communicates this data to the network, which could comprisean aggregate of cellular base stations connected to a Mobile SwitchingCenter (MSC)/GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) Serving Node (GSN) or aconventional telephone system. If there are several cellular userscommunicating with a base station, each cellular device may (i)periodically transmit information over a certain frequency range (e.g.,time multiplexing), (ii) transmit at the same time as other cellulardevices, using the same or overlapping frequency ranges (e.g.,code-division multiplexing), or (iii) transmit in a particular frequencyrange (e.g., frequency multiplexing). However, dedicated and sharedresources are radio resources that the mobile user needs to access thebase station, which then communicates the information received from thecellular users to another user connected to a remote base station via aradio interface or to a fixed line communication device.

[0005] Currently, each type of system has its own protocols and isseparated through hardware and software. Data meant for one system doesnot and generally cannot travel through physical radio channelsdesignated for the other system. For instance, data meant for a circuitswitched system cannot be delivered via radio resources designated for apacket switched system. There is a movement toward combining circuitswitched and packet switched systems in the radio access network.However, current circuit and packet switched systems have been developedat significant cost. Any combined system or protocol for such a combinedsystem should support previous generation systems and protocols.

[0006] A need therefore exists for techniques that allow both packet andcircuit switching techniques in the same system yet allow previousgeneration wireless networks to operate correctly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Generally, the present invention provides techniques for enablingthe new generation wireless networks to use both shared and dedicatedresources without interfering with previous generation wirelessnetworks.

[0008] In one aspect of the invention, systems interpret receivedheaders of packets of information. If the header is meant for aparticular layer in the system, certain bits in the header are examined.If these particular bits are a predetermined value, the systeminterprets the rest of the information in the packet as belonging to adedicated radio resource protocol. If the particular bits are not thepredetermined value, the system interprets the rest of the informationin the packet as belonging to a shared radio resource protocol.

[0009] In another aspect of the invention, the system's protocolarchitecture contains a Data Link Control (DLC) layer on top of a MediumAccess Control (MAC) layer. By contrast, in the current General PacketRadio Service (GPRS), only Radio Link Control (RLC) is implemented ontop of MAC. The present invention, in one embodiment, proposes to letMAC control both RLC and DLC. In this embodiment, the DLC layer sendspackets with data link layer headers such that the MAC layer will setthe corresponding bits in the data link layer header to contain thepredetermined value. A receiving system will then interpret thecorresponding bits in the data link layer header as previouslydescribed. Therefore, the proposed architecture in this embodimentcomprises, from top to bottom, DLC+RLC, MAC and PHY, compared to thecurrent packet switched system with RLC, MAC and PHY, and to theseparate current circuit switched system with DLC and PHY.

[0010] A more complete understanding of the present invention, as wellas further features and advantages of the present invention, will beobtained by reference to the following detailed description anddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless network operating inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention;

[0012]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a prior art radio interface protocolarchitecture;

[0013]FIG. 3 is a block diagram used to illustrate part of the radiointerface protocol architecture of FIG. 2 modified to implement aspectsof the present invention, in accordance with a preferred embodiment ofthe invention;

[0014]FIG. 4 is a diagram of a prior art Data Link Control (DLC) PacketData Unit (PDU) protocol format;

[0015]FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams of a prior art Radio Link Control/MediaAccess Control (RLC/MAC) PDU protocol format;

[0016]FIG. 7 is a method incorporating features of the present inventionfor transmitting and receiving packets using a protocol that supportsboth dedicated and shared radio resources;

[0017]FIG. 8 is a DLC/MAC PDU protocol format in accordance with apreferred embodiment of the invention and used in the method of FIG. 7;and

[0018]FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a protocol architecture in accordancewith a preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The present invention provides techniques for implementing aprotocol format capable of handling shared and dedicated radioresources. The present invention allows conventional (referred to as“previous generation” herein) wireless networks to operate with the newdata without ever having to change the existing protocols. Essentially,these previous generation wireless networks ignore the new protocol.However, wireless networks in accordance with the present invention willuse the new protocol to handle both shared and dedicated radioresources.

[0020] Referring now to FIG. 1, a wireless network 100 is shownoperating in accordance with the present invention. Wireless network 100comprises a base station 110 and a mobile station 150. Base station 110and mobile station 150 communicate through a Radio Frequency (RF)channel 140, which could be a Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA)channel, a Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) channel, or some otherchannel known to those skilled in the art. Illustratively, base station110 is a Base Station Controller (BSC) that controls several BaseStation Receiver/Transmitters (BTS), not shown, and mobile station 150is a cellular telephone.

[0021] Base station 110 comprises a processor 120 and a memory 130.Memory 130 comprises part or all of system 200 and modified portion 300,which are explained in more detail in reference to FIGS. 2 and 3,respectively. Similarly, mobile station 150 comprises a processor 160and a memory 170. Memory 170 comprises part or all of system 200 andmodified portion 300. At a minimum, base station 130 and mobile station150 comprise the methods and apparatus of the present invention that areused to implement a protocol capable of handling both shared anddedicated radio resources, as discussed primarily in reference to FIGS.3 and 7-9.

[0022] Base station 110 can also communicate with a network layer 190,which allows remote users to communicate with cellphone users of basestation 110. Illustratively, the network layer 190 starts with a MobileSwitching Center (MSC) 191 and, what is particularly applicable to thepresent invention, a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 192, which servesa General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) supporting node (not shown). MSC191 and SGSN 192 are connected to base station 110 via an A and a Gbinterface, respectively. MSCs and SGSNs are normally located very farfrom each other, e.g., one in New York and the other in Washington,D.C., and they are connected through fixed telephone/data lines. This isalso why a cellular user can be reached by a fixed line user, and viceversa.

[0023] If there is a connection from a mobile base station 150 toanother mobile base station 150 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1),then network 100 need not comprise network layer 190. However, as isknown in the art, a voice or data connection generally passes throughmultiple base stations 110.

[0024] A problem is that some base stations 110 are designed strictlyfor dedicated radio resource allocation (also called “circuit switching”herein), while others are designed solely for shared radio resourceallocation (also called “packet switching” herein). As described above,dedicated and shared resources are physical radio resources on the celllevel in a cellular network. Conventional systems providing dedicatedand shared resources are designed with appropriate and non-compatibleprotocols. There are also base stations containing both systems andprotocols, but the protocols and systems are still separated. In otherwords, one problem is that the shared radio resource packets cannot bemoved over a wireless network that uses dedicated radio resources andvice versa.

[0025] The present invention allows services relying on packet switchingand services relying on circuit switching to be multiplexed onto one andthe same radio resource, eliminating effectively the boundary betweenthe packet switched system and the circuit switched system in radioaccess network (i.e., at the cell level) The present invention alsoprovides backwards compatibility and provides a common protocol forshared and dedicated radio resource allocation without changing theexisting protocols.

[0026] As is known in the art, the methods and apparatus discussedherein may be distributed as an article of manufacture that itselfcomprises a computer-readable medium having computer-readable code meansembodied thereon. The computer readable program code means is operable,in conjunction with a system such as base station 110 or mobile station150, to carry out all or some of the steps to perform the methods orcreate the apparatuses discussed herein. The computer-readable mediummay be a recordable medium (e.g., floppy disks, hard drives, compactdisks, or memory cards) or may be a transmission medium (e.g., a networkcomprising fiber-optics, the world-wide web, cables, or a wirelesschannel using time-division multiple access, code-division multipleaccess, or other radio-frequency channel). Any medium known or developedthat can store information suitable for use with a computer system maybe used. The computer-readable code means is any mechanism for allowinga computer to read instructions and data, such as magnetic variations ona magnetic medium or height variations on the surface of a compact disk,such as compact disk 180, shown in FIG. 1 interacting with base station110.

[0027] Memories 130, 170 configure processors 120, 160 to implement themethods, steps, and functions disclosed herein. The memories 130, 170could be distributed or local and the processors 120, 160 could bedistributed or singular. The memories 130, 170 could be implemented asan electrical, magnetic or optical memory, or any combination of theseor other types of storage devices. Moreover, the term “memory” should beconstrued broadly enough to encompass any information able to be readfrom or written to an address in the addressable space accessed byprocessors 120 or 160. With this definition, information on a network isstill within memory 130, 170 because the processor 120, 160 can retrievethe information from the network. It should be noted that eachdistributed processor that makes up processor 120 or 160 generallycontains its own addressable memory space. It should also be noted thatsome or all of each station 110, 150 can be incorporated into anapplication-specific or general-use integrated circuit. Generally,mobile station 150 will contain an application-specific circuit.

[0028] Referring now to FIG. 2, a prior art radio interface protocolarchitecture 200 is shown. Radio interface protocol architecture 200 isa proposed architecture shown in Technical Specification (TS) 43.051V5.1.0 (April 2001) by the Technical Specification Group of the 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP), the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference. TS 43.051 defines a stage-two servicedescription for a Global System for Mobile Communications/Enhanced Datarates for Global Evolution (GSM/EDGE), commonly called GERAN. Asdescribed in TS 43.051, the radio interface is layered into threeprotocol layers: the physical layer (L1); the data link layer (L2); andthe network layer (L3).

[0029] Layer 2 is split into the following sublayers: Radio Link Control(RLC) 205, Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol 210, and Packet DataConvergence Protocol (PDCP) 215. RLC/MAC is used as layer 2 in thecontrol plane below Radio Resource Control (RRC) 220, except foroperation on the Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH) 225 and Common ControlCHannel (CCCH), not shown, where Data Link (DL) layer 230 is used. DLlayer 230 comprises a Data Link Control (DLC) 235 and Link AccessProcedure on the Dm channel (LAPDm) 250.

[0030] The protocol architecture is divided into Control (C-) and User(U-) planes. The RLC 205 and MAC 210 protocols and the PHYsical layer(PHY) 235 carries data from both C- and U-plane. PDCP 215 exists in theU-plane only.

[0031] In the C-plane, Layer 3 is partitioned into sublayers where thelowest sublayer, denoted as RRC 220, interfaces with layer 2 andterminates. The next sublayer 240 provides “Duplication avoidance”functionality. This and other aspects of the radio interface protocolarchitecture 200 are not necessary to understanding the presentinvention, but are described in more detail in Technical Specification43.051.

[0032] Each block in FIG. 2 represents an instance of the respectiveprotocol. Service Access Points (SAP) for peer-to-peer communication aremarked with circles at the interface between sublayers. The SAP betweenMAC 210 and the physical layer 235 provides the logical channels. In theC-plane, the interface between duplication avoidance 240 and higher L3sublayers is defined by the General Control (GC), Notification (Nt) andDedicated Control (DC) SAPs. A description of these SAPs can be found inTS 23.110 by the 3GPP (1999), the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

[0033] Also shown in FIG. 2 are connections between RRC 220 and MAC 210as well as RRC 220 and L1 (physical layer 235) providing localinter-layer control services. An equivalent control interface existsbetween RRC 220 and the RLC sublayer (i.e., DL 230 and DLC 231), andbetween RRC 220 and the PDCP sublayer 215. These interfaces allow theRRC 220 to control the configuration of the lower layers. For thispurpose, separate control SAPs are defined between RRC 220 and eachlower layer (PDCP 215, RLC 205, MAC 210, and L1 235).

[0034] As is known in the art, mobile stations will generally contain asubset of the protocols shown in FIG. 2, while base stations willgenerally contains most or all of the protocols shown in FIG. 2 and mayadditionally comprise many more protocols and layers. In particular, amobile station will generally contain an RLC/MAC and/or DCL protocol,but will not contain L3 layer devices, whereas a base station willusually contain L3 layer devices.

[0035] In the radio interface protocol architecture 200, the dedicatedand shared radio resource protocols are separated. The dedicated radioresource protocols comprise the DL layer 230 (and its LAPDm 250 and DLC231). The shared radio resource protocols comprise the PDCP 215, RLC205, and MAC 210. Data originating from or being received by the DLlayer 230 does not travel through the MAC 210 and associated layers.Similarly, data originating from or being received by the MAC 210 layersdoes not travel through the DL layer 230.

[0036]FIG. 3 illustrates a portion 300 of the radio interface protocolarchitecture of FIG. 2 modified to implement aspects of the presentinvention, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.Portion 300 comprises PDCP 215, RLC 205, MAC 210 and PHY 235.Importantly, RLC 205 contains DL/DLC 310 functionality, which containsboth DL 230 and the control DLC 231 protocols for the L2 layer of adedicated resource network. Consequently, dedicated packet traffic canmove from DL/DLC 310 through MAC 210 and onto the physical layer 235.Similarly, dedicated packet traffic can move from physical layer 235 toMAC 210 and then to DL/DLC 310. DL/DLC 310 and MAC 210 cooperate byusing a new protocol, shown and discussed below. The new protocol allowsprior generation wireless networking systems to essentially ignore thenew protocol but allows new wireless networking systems to determinewhether packets are to be routed to shared or dedicated layers. This isdescribed in additional detail below.

[0037] Referring now to FIG. 4, a diagram is shown of a prior art DLCPacket Data Unit (PDU) protocol format 400. In physical layer L1, thechannel block for the Slow Assisted Control CHannel (SACCH), FastAssisted Control CHannel (FACCH), Packet Associated Control CHannel(PACCH), and Packet Data Traffic CHannel (PDTCH (CS1)) all have the samesize of 23 octets. FACCH/PACCH/PDTCH (CS1) have no L1 header, whileSACCH has two octets of header for power control and timing advanceinformation. In the data link layer, an L2 layer called DL or DLCherein, the LAPDm uses five different channel block formats, where onlyfour are relevant for the description given herein. FIG. 4 shows an L2format used by SACCH (L1 header not shown) and FACCH. These channels andtheir protocols are defined in more detail in technical specifications4.04 (1999) and 4.06 (1999) by the Global System for MobileCommunication (GSM), of which the 3GPP is a part. The disclosures ofthese technical specifications are incorporated herein by reference.

[0038] In FIG. 4, EA is an address field extension bit, C/R is aCommand/Response bit, LDP is a Link Protocol Discriminator, and SAPI isa service access point identifier. Only formats A and B are shown, whichare also representative for L2 format B4 (which applies to unnumberedinformation on SACCH) and format Bter (which applies to unnumberedinformation for SAPI 0). Note that these formats are described in moredetail in TS 4.06.

[0039] What is important are the Spare and LPD entries for the L2header. The Spare is not used and is ignored in conventional dedicatedwireless networks. The LPD has allowed values of either 00 or 01. Thevalue of 01 corresponds to the data link protocol used for Short MessageService Cell Broadcast (SMSCB). SMSCB is defined in more detail in TS04.12 by the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) TS 04.12, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Essentially,SMSCB allows data to be carried along with voice over a dedicatedwireless network.

[0040] In accordance with the present invention, if the DLC and MAC arecombined to allow DLC traffic over MAC, then SMSCB will not be used.Consequently, LPD is not used. If the LPD is set to 1X, where X is a“don't care” value, conventional DLC systems will essentially ignore apacket containing the LPD of 1X. A protocol that implements a differentL2 header that allows both DLC and MAC traffic is described below.

[0041] Referring now to FIG. 5, a diagram of a prior art Radio LinkControl/Media Access Control (RLC/MAC) PDU protocol format 500 is shown.The protocol 500 of FIG. 5 is a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)layer L2 protocol, which is accomplished by the RLC/MAC protocol usingthe formats shown for uplink 510 and downlink 520. These protocols arefor Packet Associated Control CHannel (PACCH). These headers and thoseshown in FIG. 6 are described in more detail in TS 04.60 by GSM, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. It is importantto note that Payload Type of the MAC header, in both instances 510 and520, for conventional shared resource wireless networks is allowed tocontain the values 00, 01, or 10. If the value 11 is found, aconventional receiver will essentially ignore the packet. This isexplained in greater detail below.

[0042] Turning now to FIG. 6, a protocol format 600 is shown for packetsof PDTCH (CS1) in both uplink 610 and downlink 620. Again, in bothinstances 610 and 620, the payload type for conventional shared resourcewireless networks is allowed to contain the values 00, 01, or 10. If thevalue 11 is found, a conventional receiver will essentially ignore thepacket. This is explained in greater detail below.

[0043] Turning now to FIG. 7, a method 700 is shown for transmitting andreceiving packets using a protocol suitable for shared and dedicatedradio resources. An exemplary protocol will be described in reference toFIG. 8, after method 700 has been discussed. Under the assumption thatSMSCB will not be supported by DLC in GERAN, the third-generationwireless protocol, a transmitting MAC can use the LPD field to transportDLC messages, in accordance with the techniques of FIG. 7.

[0044] Method 700 begins when a transmitting DLC sets bits {8,7,6} (seeFIG. 4) of the L2 header field to a first predetermined value. In oneembodiment of the present invention, this value is 000. Thus, theconventional Spare and LPD fields (see FIG. 4) are set to zero. In step720, the transmitting DLC delivers the PDU to the MAC. Note that thisrequires a connection between the DLC and the PDU. In conventionalsystems, this connection does not exist.

[0045] In step 740, the transmitting MAC sets bits {8,7,6} of the L2header field to 110. While it is possible for the DLC to set bits{8,7,6} to 110, it is recommended that the MAC set these bits. Thisrecommendation is made for several reasons. First, it is recommendedthat, in systems conforming to the present invention, the DLC besubordinate to the MAC, just as the RLC is subordinate to MAC inconventional systems. Additionally, having the DLC set the bits {8,7,6}to 000 allows the MAC to ascertain that the DLC is functioningcorrectly. The transmitting MAC sends the PDU to the lower layer PHY fortransmission (step 760), and the PDU is transmitted. Step 750illustrates that an RF connection is used between the transmitter andreceiver.

[0046] In step 760, the PDU is received. In step 770, the receiving MACdetermines the values of the first three bits of the L2 header. Thereceiving MAC can differentiate RLC PDU and DLC PDU by determining thefirst three bits of the L2 header. If the header field Payload Type inthe received L2 header (i.e., the first received MAC octet) is not thevalue 11, the receiving MAC will interpret the payload according to TS04.60 and deliver the payload to RLC. This occurs in step 790. If theheader field Payload Type in the received L2 header is the value 11, thereceiving MAC will interpret the payload according to TS 04.06 anddeliver the payload to DLC. This occurs in step 780.

[0047] Note that the MAC, when delivering the payload to DLC sets bits{8,7,6} to 000. The entire PDU can now be correctly interpreted by theDLC. Note also that setting the bits {8,7,6} to zero means that thefield LPD, for a previous generation L2 header for DLC, will be zero.This means that the SMSCB service will not be supported by the newDLC/MAC service. However, this is no real restriction, since a newsystem operating in accordance with the present invention has integratedboth circuit and packet services. Hence, there is no need to deliverSMSCB via circuit switching, because packet switching is readilyavailable.

[0048] This approach is also feasible because the current field valuesfor the parameter “Payload Type” (as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6) of thePACCH are 00, 01, and 10, while the value 11 is reserved. According toTS 04.60, whenever a Payload Type equal to 11 is received, the legacyreceiver will ignore all fields except the Uplink State Flag (USF)field. Since the USF is useless for a dedicated channel, the field willbe filled with parameters C/R and EA of LAPDm. This turns a PACCH formatinto an LAPDm format.

[0049] To summarize the approach of the present invention, the format ofthe present invention is a hybrid of DLC and MAC/RLC formats and as suchcan be referred to as a DCL/MAC format. Moreover, a MAC operating inaccordance with the present invention will be almost completelytransparent in a networking system, as the MAC will be interpreting andappropriately setting a field of an L2 header. DLC and RLC can operateunder prior protocols, and the only “major” changes that need be made toimplement the embodiments of the present invention are to the MAC.

[0050] Referring now to FIG. 8, an exemplary DLC/MAC PDU protocol format800 of the present invention is shown. This example uses format B ofLAPDm. Application of the present invention to other LAPDm formats orRLC/MAC formats is easily performed by those skilled in the art.Essentially, the Payload Type and Spare are used in place of the Spareand LPD of the DLC PDU protocol format 500. This protocol 800 can beused as outlined in reference to FIG. 7, and it assumes that SMSCBfunctionality is not needed.

[0051] The DLC/MAC format of FIG. 8 can be viewed as an RLC/MAC formatas well as a DLC format. It is not difficult to see that the duality ofperception has further consequence in its application. The format ofFIG. 8 allows sending PACCH and CS1 data over FACCH or SACCH. Note thatCS1 is one of nine different PDTCH formats, but the only format forPACCH. It also allows FACCH and SACCH data over logical PACCH or CS1.Consequently, the format of FIG. 8 is capable of handling both sharedand dedicated radio resources, and these resources can traverse DLC andMAC layers in accordance with the present invention.

[0052] The previous description is also applicable to the GERAN protocolarchitecture described in TS 43.051. Since the Payload Type parameter ofthe GPRS RLC/MAC protocol (shown for instance in FIGS. 5 and 6) iscommon to both PACCH and PDTCH (CS1), in uplink as well as downlink, thepresent invention applies to all GPRS RLC/MAC blocks. Thus, in order toachieve link control for a dedicated MAC channel, the MAC layer of aGERAN receiver is required to perform the following: (1) treat all datafrom SACCH, PACCH, and FACCH as a GPRS RLC/MAC block; (2) if the valueof the Payload Type of the present invention is value 11, interpret therest of the block according to TS 04.06 except the bits {8,7,6} of thefirst MAC octet; and (3) otherwise, interpret the rest of the blockaccording to TS 04.60. This is described in reference to method 700 ofFIG. 7.

[0053] This technique makes it possible for a GERAN MAC to switchbetween DLC and RLC, in order to control dedicated channels in both DLC(or LAPDm) protocol and RLC protocol. This ability is illustrated byFIG. 9, which show a section of the GERAN protocol architectureincorporating the techniques of the present invention. In theconventional GERAN protocol, the connection 910 between the DLC and thededicated-MAC and the connection 930 between the RLC and shared-MAC aredefined. The present invention adds the connection 920 between the RLCand the dedicated-MAC. This connection 920 is not possible in thecurrent GERAN architecture.

[0054] By allowing packets defined by the RLC/MAC and LAPDm protocols tobe multiplexed over FACCH, PACCH, and SACCH channels, the presentinvention provides great flexibility to support certain channelconfigurations unique to GERAN Revision 4. Specifically, thearchitecture defined by the present invention supports the followingoptions:

[0055] (1) Speech traffic channels on legacy transceivers, quarter ratespeech traffic channels, and TCH data channels using ECSD and CSDchannel coding option will not be able to support PDTCH and PACCHchannels, which are usually required to support radio bearer usingRLC/MAC. The architecture of the present invention allows a modest levelof support for RLC/MAC radio bearers on a FACCH with CS-1 coding. Thisis required to support signaling bearers using RLC/MAC, and to supportcritical user data radio bearers such as those used for SIP callcontrol; and

[0056] (2) Dedicated channels supporting only radio bearers using PDTCHdo not support FACCH. In these cases, it is desirable to have a methodof supporting existing FACCH message on a PACCH channel. The techniquesof the present invention allow for this.

[0057] Besides the flexibility the present invention provides, anotheradvantage of the present invention is the fact that it requires nochange to TS 04.60 and negligible change to TS 04.06.

[0058] LAPDm is a proven, reliable protocol for support DLC signaling inGSM. By embedding LAPDm protocol into GERAN protocol architecture, a MACdesign can be achieved with minimum development efforts. The presentinvention essentially merges the RLC/MAC and LAPDm blocks, whileminimizing redundant header information inherent to the RLC/MACprotocol. As a result, the approach enables the transportation of bothRLC PDU and DLC PDU via logical FACCH, PACCH, and SACCH.

[0059] It is to be understood that the embodiments and variations shownand described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of thisinvention and that various modifications may be implemented by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention.

We claim:
 1. A method for handling shared and dedicated radio resources,the method comprising the steps of: determining a value of a field in aheader in a packet; when the value of the field is a predeterminedvalue, interpreting the packet in accordance with a protocol fordedicated radio resources; and when the value of the field is at leastone second predetermined value, interpreting the packet in accordancewith a protocol for shared radio resources.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the field comprises two bits, wherein the predetermined value is11, and wherein the at least one second predetermined value comprisesthree values of 00, 01, and
 10. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theprotocol for dedicated radio resources is defined by Technical Standard04.06 of the Global System of Mobil Communication (GSM) group, andwherein the protocol for shared radio resources is defined by TS 04.60of the GSM group.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step ofinterpreting the packet in accordance with a protocol for dedicatedradio resources further comprises the step of routing the packet to adevice adapted to implement the step of interpreting the packet inaccordance with a protocol for dedicated radio resources, and whereinthe step of interpreting the packet in accordance with a protocol forshared radio resources further comprises the step of routing the packetto a device adapted to implement the step of interpreting the packet inaccordance with a protocol for shared radio resources.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the field comprises three bits, wherein the step ofinterpreting the packet in accordance with a protocol for dedicatedradio resources further comprises the step of (a) setting the field to avalue of 000 prior to interpreting all of the header of the packet inaccordance with a protocol for dedicated radio resources, and whereinthe step of interpreting the packet in accordance with a protocol forshared radio resources further comprises the step of interpreting all ofthe header of the packet in accordance with a protocol for shared radioresources.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the header is the firstoctet of a data link layer packet, and wherein the packet is a PacketData Unit (PDU).
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the stepsof: setting the field to a first value; setting the field to a secondvalue; and transmitting the PDU.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein: thefield comprises three bits; the method further comprises the step ofreceiving the PDU; the step of interpreting the packet in accordancewith a protocol for dedicated resources further comprises the step ofsetting the three bits to 000 prior to interpreting the packet inaccordance with a protocol for dedicated resources; and the step ofinterpreting the packet in accordance with a protocol for sharedresources further comprises the step of leaving the three bits wheninterpreting the packet in accordance with a protocol for dedicatedresources.
 9. A method for handling shared and dedicated radioresources, the method comprising the steps of: determining a value of afield in a header in a packet; when the value of the field is apredetermined value, routing the packet to a device adapted to controldedicated radio resources; and when the value of the field is at leastone second predetermined value, routing the packet to a device adaptedto control shared radio resources.
 10. An apparatus comprising: a memorythat stores computer-readable code; a processor operatively coupled tothe memory, the processor configured to implement the computer-readablecode, the computer-readable code configured to: determine a value of afield in a header in a packet; when the value of the field is apredetermined value, interpret the packet in accordance with a protocolfor dedicated radio resources; and when the value of the field is atleast one second predetermined value, interpret the packet in accordancewith a protocol for shared radio resources.
 11. An article ofmanufacture comprising: a computer-readable medium havingcomputer-readable code means embodied thereon, the computer-readablecode means comprising: a step to determine a value of a field in aheader in a packet; when the value of the field is a predeterminedvalue, a step to interpret the packet in accordance with a protocol fordedicated radio resources; and when the value of the field is at leastone second predetermined value, a step to interpret the packet inaccordance with a protocol for shared radio resources.
 12. A transmittercomprising: a first device adapted to set a field of a header of apacket to a first value; a second device adapted to set the field of theheader to a second value, wherein a predetermined value of the fieldindicates that the packet is to be interpreted in accordance with aprotocol for dedicated radio resources and at least one additional valueof the field indicates that the packet is to be interpreted inaccordance with a protocol for shared radio resources; and a thirddevice adapted to transmit the packet.
 13. The transmitter of claim 12,wherein the first device is a data link controller, the second device isa media access controller, and the third device is a physical layer. 14.The transmitter of claim 13, wherein the data link controller is part ofa radio link controller, wherein the data link controller is adapted tocontrol dedicated radio resources, and wherein the radio link controlleris adapted to control shared radio resources.
 15. A receiver comprising:a first device adapted to control dedicated radio resources; a seconddevice adapted to control shared radio resources; a third device adaptedto determine a value of a field in a header in a packet, the thirddevice routing the packet to the first device when the value of thefield is a predetermined value and routing the packet to the seconddevice when the value of the field is at least one second predeterminedvalue.
 16. The receiver of claim 15, wherein the receiver is coupled tophysical radio resources on a cell level in a wireless network and tomultiple users, wherein data from only one user is allowed per adedicated radio resource of the physical radio resources, and whereindata from a plurality of the users is allowed per a shared radioresource of the physical radio resources.
 17. The receiver of claim 15,wherein the first device is a data link controller, wherein the seconddevice is a radio link controller, and wherein the third device is amedia access controller.
 18. The receiver of claim 15, wherein: thefield comprises three bits; and the third device is adapted to set thethree bits to 000 prior to routing the packet to the first device, andis adapted to leave the three bits unchanged when routing the packet tothe second device.